Levitating toy with an air-stream generator and a flying prop

ABSTRACT

A flying toy has an airstream generator with a handle. The air stream generator has an air duct with a multi-blade propeller operatively coupled to a motor. The handle has a compartment to accommodate one or two batteries to power the motor. When the motor is turned on, the propeller produces an airstream out of the air duct. On top of the air duct, a cover with a stud is provided. The stud is dimensioned to fit a hole in the bottom section of a bowl-shaped body. The bowl-shaped body has a rim section connected to the bottom section. The rim section has a plurality of fins oriented such that when the airstream is produced by the propeller, the airstream interacts with the fins, causing the bowl-shaped body to spin while the bowl-shaped body is moving away from and hovering above the air duct.

This patent application is based on and claims benefits to U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/001,540, filed Nov. 1, 2007.

FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention relates to a levitating or flying toy, eithermanual-powered or motor-driven. In particular, the present invention isrelated to a levitating toy equipped with a propeller for forcing an airstream.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

Gadgets that seemingly defy gravity are generally fascinating.Levitating toys are such gadgets. It would be advantageous to provide alevitating toy that is simple and cost-effective.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is concerned with a levitating toy having an airstream generator to create an air stream in order to push a bowl-shapedflying body away from the generator.

The levitating toy, according to various embodiments of the presentinvention, comprises an air stream generator with a handle. The airstream generator includes a multi-blade propeller operatively coupled toan electric motor inside the air stream generator.

The main body of the air stream generator includes two shells, whichaccommodate the electric motor, a switch with push button, and an airduct with a protruding stud in the middle. Through the air duct, the airstream is designed to uplift a variety of flying bodies into the air.The shells can be made of plastic, for example. The electric motor canbe a DC (direct-current) motor configured to receive a DC power source,such as an electric charger or at least one battery.

In accordance with the present invention, a bowl-shaped flying body madeof light-weight material is configured to receive the air stream. Therim or side of the bowl-shaped flying body comprises a plurality ofcurved fins such that when the air stream acts upon curved fins, itexerts a revolving force on the fins, causing the flying body to spin.The bottom of the bowl-shaped flying body has a hole dimensioned toengage the protruding stud in the middle of the air duct outlet of theair stream generator when the bowl-shaped flying body rests on the airstream generator.

Thus, the first aspect of the present invention is a levitating toycomprising:

an air generating duct; and

a handle connected to the air duct, wherein the air duct comprises anair duct body having a first end and an opposing second end, and apropeller located inside the air duct body, the propeller coupled to amotor for rotational motion in order to provide an air stream throughthe first end, and wherein the handle is located on the second end ofthe air duct and comprises a battery compartment configured for storingone or more batteries for powering the motor, and a switch forcontrolling said powering, and wherein the air duct further comprises acover on the first end of the air duct body, the cover comprising a studcentrally located on the cover.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the stud isconfigured to receive a bowl-shaped flying body having a bottom sectionand a rim section, wherein the bottom section comprises a centrallylocated hole dimensioned to fit the stud on the air duct, and the rimsection comprises a plurality of curved fins such that when the airstream is provided by the air duct, the air stream interacts with thecurved fins, causing the bowl-shaped flying body to spin while movingthe bowl-shaped flying body away from the first end of the air ductbody.

The second aspect of the present invention is a bowl-shaped body,comprising:

a rim section; and

a bottom section connected to the rim section, wherein the rim sectioncomprises a plurality of curved fins and the bottom section comprises ahole.

The third aspect of the present invention is a method of operating aflying toy, comprising:

providing an air duct comprising an air duct body having a first end andan opposing second end, the first end comprising a cover having acentrally located stud dimension to receive an object with a hole; and

locating a propeller in the air duct body, the propeller coupled to amotor such that when the motor is turned on, the propeller is caused toprovide an air stream through the first end of the air duct around thestud and away from the first end of the air duct.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the method furthercomprises:

placing a bowl-shaped body on the first end of the air duct, thebowl-shaped body having a rim section connected to a bottom section, thebottom section having a centrally located opening dimensioned to fit thestud; and

providing a plurality of curved fins on the rim section of thebowl-shaped body such that when the propeller is caused to provide theair stream through the first end of the air duct, the air streaminteracts with the curved fins, causing the bowl-shaped body to spinabout a rotational axis and to move away from the first end of the airduct.

According to a different embodiment of the present invention, the methodfurther comprises:

powering the motor so as to allow the propeller to provide the airstream through the first end of the air duct;

placing a ball in the air stream at a distance from the first end of theair duct.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the methodfurther comprises:

placing an object in the air stream at a further distance from the firstend of the air duct, away from the ball.

The object can be another ball or the bowl-shaped body as describedabove.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1 and 2 show an exemplary embodiment of the invention with abowl-shaped flying body in operation.

FIG. 3 shows an exploded view of the air stream generator, according toone embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 shows an air stream acting upon the bowl-shaped flying body.

FIG. 5 shows stackable setup of two foam balls according to an exemplaryembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 shows stackable setup of one foam ball and a bowl-shaped flyingbody.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIGS. 1, 2, and 3 illustrate a levitating toy engineered and operativein accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1 shows a levitating toy 100 comprising an air stream generator 50configured to receive a flying body, such as a bowl-shaped flying body14. FIG. 2 shows that the flying body 14 is separated from the airstream generator 50. In accordance with the exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention, the air stream generator 50 includes a handle 1 madeof two half shells 5, 6, a battery cover 7 hinged at the bottom of thehandle 1, and an air duct 2 located on top of the handle 1. As shown inFIG. 3, the lower portion of the handle 1 is to accommodate at least oneof battery 15.

A bottom part 3 of the air duct 2 is configured to fit a wire grill 9and a DC motor 8 electrically coupled to a multi-blade propeller 10. Apush button 17 coupled to a compression spring 18 is mounted to amounting plate 19. On the same mounting plate 19 a leaf switch 20 withwire connection to the motor 8. The push button 17, together with thecompression spring 18, serves as a momentary switch in order to turn onbattery power to the motor 8.

An upper part 4 of the air duct 2 is coupled with a second wire grill 11and a cover 12. A stud 13 extends from the cover 12 and is configured toreceive the bowl-shaped flying body 14 through a hole 16 at the bottomof a bowl-shaped flying body 14. The stud 13 can be shaped like a bullettip.

When the battery power is provided to the propeller 10 via the pushbutton 17, air is sucked in through an inlet 22 and the wire grill 9 ofthe air duct 2 and propelled through an outlet 23 and the wire grill 11,as shown in FIG. 4. The air stream generator creates an air stream 24that travels away from the outlet 23.

As can be seen from FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, the bowl-shaped flying body 14comprises a plurality of curved fins 21 located around the side of thebowl-shaped body. As the air stream 24 acts upon one or more curved fins21, the air stream 24 causes the bowl shaped flying body 14 to spin in adirection 25 about a rotational axis 125. According to theory ofCoand{hacek over (a)} effect, the air stream tends to stay attached tothe side of flying body 14, and as a result, the flying body 14 tends tohover at a certain range above the air duct 2. When the air streamgenerator 50 is moved up and down in a slow motion, the flying body 14is able to move up and down with the air stream generator 50.

It should be noted that, with the stud 13 on top of the cover 12 of theair duct 2, the air stream generator 50 can receive a flying body, suchas the bowl-shaped flying body 14 with the hole or aperture 16. The hole16 and the stud 13 are designed to keep the bowl-shaped flying body 14in place when the propeller 10 is not turned on. When the battery poweris turned off while the bowl-shaped flying body 14 is hovering on top ofthe air duct 2, it is possible to catch the bowl-shaped flying body withthe stud 13 through the hole 16.

While the air stream propeller 50 is designed to propel the bowl-shapedflying body 14, the air stream propeller 50 is also designed to use withone or more different objects. For example, two round objects such asfoam balls 26, 27 can be caused to float above the air duct 2. The ball26 can be the same size as or larger or smaller than the ball 27, forexample. While the air stream 24 is on, it is possible to place the ball26 into the stream at a certain distance. As the ball 26 becomesstabilized in the air stream, a smaller and lighter ball 27 can also beplaced at a distance above the ball 26, as shown in FIG. 5. It is alsopossible to place the bowl-shaped flying body 14 at a distance above theball 26, as shown in FIG. 6.

In sum, the present invention provides a flying toy comprising an airstream generator to produce an air stream. The air stream generatorcomprises an air duct connected to a handle. The air duct has an airinput end and an air output end. Each of the air input and output endshas a grill to allow air to pass through. On the air output end, a coverwith a centrally located stud is provided. The stud is dimensioned tofit a hole on the bottom of a flying body so as to allow the flying bodyto be placed on top of the air duct. The air duct comprises amotor-powered propeller. When the propeller is turned to produce an airstream, the flying body on top of the air duct can be caused to moveupward along the air stream. The rim of the flying body comprises aplurality of curved fins oriented such that when the air streaminteracts with the curved fins, the flying body is caused to spin alonga certain direction about a rotational axis. As the flying body isspinning, it hovers at a distance above the air duct. It is possible toplace a round object, such as a foam ball, in the air stream between thehovering flying body and air duct. It is also possible to place one, twoor more foam balls in the air stream at different distances.

Thus, although the present invention has been described with respect toone or more embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilledin the art that the foregoing and various other changes, omissions anddeviations in the form and detail thereof may be made without departingfrom the scope of this invention.

1. A toy comprising: an air duct; and a handle connected to the airduct, wherein the air duct comprises an air duct body having a first endand an opposing second end, and a propeller located inside the air ductbody, the propeller coupled to a motor for rotational motion configuredto provide an air stream through the first end, and wherein the handleis located on the second end of the air duct and comprises a batterycompartment configured to store one or more batteries for powering themotor, and a switch for controlling said powering, and wherein the airduct further comprises a cover on the first end of the air duct body,the cover comprising a stud centrally located on the cover.
 2. The toyof claim 1, further comprising: a bowl-shaped flying body having abottom section and a rim section connected to the bottom section,wherein the bottom section comprises a centrally located holedimensioned to fit the stud on the air duct, and the rim sectioncomprises a plurality of fins such that when the air stream is providedby the air duct, the air stream interacts with the fins, causing thebowl-shaped flying body to spin while the bowl-shaped flying body ismoving away from the first end of the air duct body.
 3. A toy,comprising: a rim section; and a bottom section connected to the rimsection, wherein the rim section comprising a plurality of fins and thebottom section comprises a hole centrally located on the bottom section.4. The toy of claim 3, wherein the fins comprises curved surfacesoriented such that when the toy is encountered an air stream comingtoward the bottom section and then the rim section, the air streaminteracts with the curved surfaces of the fins, causing the toy to spinabout a rotational axis.
 5. A method of operating a flying toy,comprising: providing an air duct comprising an air duct body having afirst end and an opposing second end, the first end comprising a coverhaving a centrally located stud dimension to receive an object with ahole; and locating a propeller in the air duct body, the propellercoupled to a motor such that when the motor is powered, the propeller iscaused to provide an air stream through the first end of the air ductaround the stud and away from the first end of the air duct.
 6. Themethod of claim 5, further comprising: placing a bowl-shaped body on thefirst end of the air duct, the bowl-shaped body having a rim sectionconnected to a bottom section, the bottom section having a centrallylocated opening dimensioned to fit the stud; and providing a pluralityof fins on the rim section of the bowl-shaped body such that when thepropeller is caused to provide the air stream through the first end ofthe air duct, the air stream interacts with the fins, causing thebowl-shaped body to spin about a rotational axis and to move away fromthe first end of the air duct.
 7. The method of claim 5, furthercomprising: powering the motor so as to cause the propeller to providethe air stream through the first end of the air duct; placing a ball inthe air stream at a distance from the first end of the air duct.
 8. Themethod of 7, further comprising: placing an object in the air stream ata further distance from the first end of the air duct, away from theball.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the object comprises anotherball.
 10. The method of claim 8, wherein the object comprises abowl-shaped body having a rim section connected to a bottom section,wherein the rim section comprises a plurality of fins configured tointeract with the air stream, causing the bowl-shaped body to spin abouta rotational axis.